Band Stars

Band Stars is the latest game from Halfbrick Studios, the publishers behind the immensely popular games Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. It's focus is on music production from a management perspective, as you choose band members, put together songs, add new pieces to your band, and compete with friends through leaderboards - or just bring in their members for a quick jam session.

The Good

Band Stars has some novel ideas, and they work reasonably well. You balance out your band with whatever each member brings to the table, and then come up with some creative combinations for songs. The interface is rather easy to follow, and there are some kooky band members you can add to the mix, from luchador mask-wearing musicians, to incredibly weird goblin wannabes.

The Bad

As novel as Band Stars' approach is, it just really isn't that much fun. The game becomes monotonous very quickly, and it doesn't feature that much music at all, despite the diversity of style, instruments and song names. It also leans quite heavily on its freemium model, and you'll need to pay up for the better customization tools, as well as energy drinks to keep your band juiced up in a hurry.

There also doesn't seem to be too much point in landing your songs in the Top 50, aside from minor rewards that don't get you anywhere quickly. Then there are the in-game bugs that are quite annoying - freezing screens and characters that don't always follow your commands, for example.

The Verdict

While Band Stars has an interesting concept and some fun characters, its glitches, lack of entertainment, and sheer lack of music make it less than enjoyable. Think carefully before taking this band on the road.